Acute stress is a common life experience that causes a significant physiological and psychological response to a particular incident. However, chronic stress is a long-term pattern of feeling under pressure and overwhelmed. 48% of Americans are living with extreme chronic stress. Chronic stress has cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioural symptoms. If you experience three to five signs for over a few weeks, you may have chronic stress. Here’s what you can do about it.
- Aches and body pains
Your body naturally reacts to continuous strain caused by chronic stress, and this causes aches and body pains. Stress hormones such as cortisol are released in response to stress, and these hormones released may cause muscular strain and inflammation. Your shoulders, neck, and back may experience severe discomfort over time. In this case, applying CBD creams for pain relief is one of the ways to help reduce the discomfort. Stress can also impair immunity leaving the body more vulnerable to infections, so keep this in mind.
- Changes in appetite
When a person is particularly stressed, it is common for them to go one of two extremes: either eat very little or eat far more than they normally do. If you grab potato chips when your stress level rises, you may engage in emotional eating. This occurs when you turn to food when facing an emotional crisis. If you have trouble eating when you are anxious, it might be because your digestive system has slowed down. Consider eating on schedule to combat this; setting a timer for meal and snack times can help.
- Inadequate sleep
Stress may undoubtedly make it difficult to get or remain asleep at night. This is particularly concerning because sleep is vital to many aspects of your health. Everything in your body gets renewed when you sleep and relax. Without sleep, your brain has a more difficult time making healthy decisions which can lead to increased stress. Do well to go to bed on time every day, including weekends. Try a relaxing approach that combines mindfulness, deep breathing or meditation shortly before bedtime, which can help increase sleep time and quality. Also, develop a regular sleep schedule for the best results.
- Constipation and Diarrhoea
Stress may have the same impact on your bowels as on your appetite – causing one extreme or the other. One reason stress might induce constipation, according to the American Institute of Stress, is blood flow. When a stress hormone is released, the body directs blood flow to critical organs such as the heart, lungs and brain rather than the intestines causing intestinal movement to slow. Constipation and diarrhea are chronic stress symptoms you may be unaware of. People can utilize traditional constipation therapies such as moderate laxatives, stool softeners or prescription drugs for stress-related constipation. These remedies, however, do not address the underlying cause. Using them for an extended period may impair the body’s natural ability to remove stool, so feel free to consider this.